Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

By: Samin Nosrat

Narrated by: Samin Nosrat

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Soon to be a Netflix series in October 2018.

Winner of the Fortnum & Mason Best Debut Food Book 2018.

Sunday Times Food Book of the Year and New York Times best seller.

While cooking at Chez Panisse at the start of her career, Samin Nosrat noticed that amid the chaos of the kitchen there were four key principles that her fellow chefs would always fall back on to make their food better: salt, fat, acid and heat.   

By mastering these four variables, Samin found the confidence to trust her instincts in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients. And with her simple but revolutionary method, she has taught master classes to give both professionals and amateurs the skills to cook instinctively.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2018 Samin Nosrat (P)2018 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Excellent in every way

Well written, presented and produced.

As a chef of 25 years, I knew almost all of what Samin was saying, but I didn’t know why, I nodded throughout the book. And most importantly I learned a lot.

However I noticed that the PDF she refers to in the book isn’t attached and can’t be found.

Would be great to receive that.

No recipes

I enjoyed the audible book but I've realised there are no recipes in the audible version of the book so to get the book in full I would have to purchase kindle or printed version on top of my audible purchase. It wouldn't make me furious if these recipes were included in the PDF or at least if any warning was given in the description of the book. The book is also very expensive so it was not an good audible deal at all.

NOT ‘unabridged’

I thought this was a short book for such a large hardback. It turns out that about five minutes before the end of this book, the narrator says ‘All the recipes in this book are only in the print edition”.

Ideal for anyone interested in cooking

Finally, someone explains the principles behind cooking, rather than just a series of seemingly random steps!

The author reads very well, making it a really pleasant listen, even the third or fourth time through.

Highly recommended

Interesting and useful. But beware - no recipes!

WARNING: This audiobook does NOT include the recipes that are in the printed version of this book!
This is not a cookbook. "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" is more a manual on making the most out of any ingredients and recipes by understanding how cooking and food preparation actually work.
The author mentions dinner parties and fancy occasions. This type of cooking is not something I am interested in as I simply want to make delicious and healthy food for my family, ideally on a budget. However, the principles, rules, recommendations, and advice Nosrat introduces will be helpful and transformative, I dare say, for any cook and any occasion.
I really liked this book and I will definitely be going back to it again and again for more inspiration and understanding.

It’s like being given a map

Great overview of cooking methods as well as using the different elements to be a better cook as well as improvise in the kitchen. If you cook a lot, you’ll find it covers some fairly basic information but also the way it structures that knowledge it gives you a new understanding of how different elements affect food and relate to one another. It’s like having visited a few places and then suddenly been shown a map of them and you go AHA! Thoroughly enjoyed it and also learned new things about the science behind how different foods transform from the addition of salt, fat, acid and heat as well as covered gaps in my knowledge of those elements. Certainly enhanced my toolbox of cooking knowledge and it’s a book I’ll refer back to as I experiment in the kitchen.

Absolutely essential

I've been cooking for 19 years professionally and still, I hung on every word!

Works better in print but still brilliant!

Since this is one of those books that you want to refer back to often, I'd recommend the print version - I got it for my sister and it's a real thing of beauty.

That said, this is the perfect book for your average cooking novice like me who enjoys cooking but hadn't put any thought into *why* things work. The joy of cooking that exudes from Nosrat's writing stops this from turning into a dry academic study and is instead a celebration of finding the delicious in everything - I have recommended this book to every foodie I know

Great book

being a chef this book has made me look at things differently would definitely recommend

Teaching the fundamentals of good cooking

I am doing ok in the kicthen, and this book gave me great tips to improve and experiment further!
This is not a boring recipe book but really a guide with simply explained principles for good cooking in general. I keep those in mind and already saved a few dishes with remembering the elements salt, fat, acid and heat.
The reading by the author is entertaining.

Add Syrup to the title

Well narrated and researched and enlightening. Without the didactic senimentality it would be 5 stars.